Fauci Says Fast Development of Vaccines Doesn’t Threaten Safety

(Bloomberg) -- The rapid speed at which researchers are developing coronavirus vaccines doesn't mean that safety is being sacrificed, said Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government's top infectious-disease expert.

“The rapidity with which we are moving relates more to technological advances with how you can make a vaccine even before you start testing it,” Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and one of the top U.S. health officials, said on Wednesday in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

Fauci has said numerous times he is cautiously optimistic that a vaccine for Covid-19 will be available at the end of this year or early 2021. He said in the interview that by working ahead to secure trial sites and manufacturing for the vaccine, it allows the process to move more quickly.

Patients in the U.S. began late last month receiving shots in later-stage clinical trials of two different vaccines, one developed by Moderna Inc. and another by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE. Several others are expected to soon follow.

Fauci said he hopes a vaccine is at least 70% effective but if it is more like 50% to 60% effective, “I'll feel good about that.” The measles vaccine is 97% to 98% effective, he said.

Pfizer and BioNTech have said their goal is to submit data from the trial for regulatory review as soon as October. Results are also expected to potentially be available from Moderna's trial the same month. Given that October would be months, if not years, ahead of typical vaccine development, there is concern the timeline is being rushed to give President Donald Trump a boost before the November presidential election.

The Trump administration is spearheading the vaccine push out of a program it created called Operation Warp Speed, a name Fauci has criticized for giving the impression that development is being rushed. The Food and Drug Administration has said a vaccine must work in at least 50% of patients before it will approve the shot.

The Trump administration has yet to release a plan for who will get a vaccine first if one is approved or how the vaccines will be distributed.

Separately, Fauci said in the interview that the U.S. needs to improve on efforts to test for the coronavirus.

“We need to do better,” Fauci said about the amount of time it takes for some to get Covid-19 tests back. Results should come back in 24 to 48 hours, otherwise longer wait times obviate the reason for the test, he said. “No excuses, it needs to be done.”

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